The Agony Inside
by AWildMadAppears
Summary: 'When you can feel yourself breaking, what can you do? Wait, scratch that. When you can feel yourself breaking but you need to stay strong for everyone around you, what can you do' Percy seems to be the strongest person around, the person who everyone can lean on. But when he begins to crack, who is there to help him?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys **** As this is my first fan fic, I am going to try and make it as perfect as I can but I am reeeeaaaalllllyyyy bad at spelling so… please excuse mistakes. Also, no characters or quotes belong to me. Rick Riordan owns them.**

**Chapter 1**

In my world, there is little to no room for sadness. Whenever sadness comes our way, sure, we feel it, but we can never feel it for long. We have to keep moving, keep training, keep living, just to make sure it can never happen again. But it will. And the process will repeat. And when the sadness returns, I am always the one who has to hold everyone up.

I have experienced everything imaginable. Quests, hell, death, abuse and, gods, I have even put up with everyday, common place bullying, and I haven't broken. Not yet at least. I guess that's why they come to me.

But I can feel myself slipping. The nightmares won't stop. I can't sleep anymore without feeling afraid. School's getting harder and the bullying is getting worse. I can't tell anyone, though. Because they need me. And I can't let them down. Not again… Not again…

"Percy?" Her voice startled me out of my thoughts and I looked towards the door. Her arms were crossed tightly against her chest and her head was low. Her grey eyes were settled on me where I lay on the bed. From where I was, I could see her slouched figure and the tear tracks on her face. Another nightmare.

Plastering on the smile that was appropriate for the situation, I opened up my arms.

"Come here Wise Girl."

That was all that was needed for her. She crossed the room in three strides, burying herself in my embrace. I could feel her tears splash on my neck as she cuddled into my side. We lay in silence, both of us knowing that a safe embrace is all that was needed.

Soon enough, she fell asleep. Her blonde curls were stuck to her face, her tears acting as glue. I subconsciously played with her hair as my thoughts went back to their original track.

Annabeth is the one I love the most, sans maybe my Mum, and I can't protect her from the horrors of her mind. But as long as I am around I will be the one holding her, comforting her. And that goes for all my friends. Because that is my job. And to do my job, I am not allowed to break.

**PJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJPOJOPJOPJOPJOPJO**

A few hours later, she stirred in my arms. Blinking lazily, she stared at my face, a small, content smile gracing her features.

"Hey." She whispered quietly, bringing one arm up to stretch above her head.

"Hey."

We were silent for a while, revelling in the others presence. After a while though, I slowly stretched and sat up. I leaned down and gave her a small peck before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

Once I was out, I headed back into the bunk room to find Annabeth ready, sitting on the edge of the bed. When she heard the door close behind me, she looked up, her head held higher than when she came in last night.

I reached for her hand that was resting on the bed and leant down, leaning my forehead on hers for a moment.

"Thank you." The whisper barely made it to my ears but I heard it none the less.

"Now, now, don't be thanking me. It's my job isn't it?" I teased, kneeling down and resting my head on her knees. Her hand made its way to my hair as another smile lit up her face. After another moment of silence, she spoke up again, continuing to stroke my hair as she did.

"How do you do it?" The question was sudden and I slowly lifted my head from her knees to look her in the eyes.

"Do what?"

"Let go. I mean, after everything you have been through, after everything you have seen, you are still able to live life. Even more than that, you are able to help everyone else go on with life. So how do you do it?" Her grey eyes found mine and I could see a genuine curiosity shining through.

I bit my lip and thought about my answer. The truth was that I haven't let go. Every death, every horror, is replayed in my head over and over again, so much that at times I think I am going insane. But I can't tell her that. Then she would know I am breaking. And I can't break.

"I just accept what happens. I knew my life was going to be difficult ever since I found out about this demigod gig and I accepted it. Sure, everything still hurts now and again, but that is because I am still human." My answer came out better than I thought it would. I'm starting to think I should become a psychologist.

Annabeth stared at me for a few more moments before nodding her head slowly. I let out the metaphorical breath I was holding at her acceptance of my answer. She really does not need to know the truth.

"I'm going home today." I said suddenly, breaking the silence that had formed.

"I know."

"So you will be okay?"

"If I'm not I'll IM you."

"You know I love you right?"

"Yes, Percy. I love you too." She smiled at my concern before sighing. She gave me a quick kiss before standing up from my bed and taking my hands, pulling me from the ground and pulling me towards the door.

The rest of the day passed quickly until it was time to go home. I know it sounds cheesy but the thought of leaving all that comforted me kind of sent me into a hazy state of mind. I knew I would have my mum but she doesn't really get it. She tries and she is amazing, but she just can't comfort me from horrors she can't even dream of.

Getting in the car, I looked back up at Thalia's Pine, where they were standing to see me off. Jason and Piper were sitting at the base of the tree, arms around each other. Leo was tinkering with something off to the side of them, all the while laughing with Jason about something they were saying. Annabeth was standing with one hand on the trunk of the tree, watching me leave with a small smile on her face. They waved as I left. It didn't help the slight panic I felt from being separated from them.

"How are you, sweetheart?" The question was spoken softly. Then I knew that she knew. Then again, I shouldn't have been surprised. She always knows.

In answer, I turned towards the window, away from her, holding back the tears that threatened to leak out my eyes. She got the message.

Reaching over, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it and, almost as if she had squeezed them out, the tears spilled over and ran down my face.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you to those who reviewed and favourited. Frankly I thought no one except AWildCrazyAppears would actually look at this (and that is because she is obligated to ;)) Anyways, here is chapter 2. (Rick Riordan owns characters and quotes.)**

"Percy, it's time to get up." My eyes snapped open to my mother's voice. Gripping the sheets, I took several deep breaths as my brain caught up to my eyes.

_It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real._

But it was real. The clanging of a machine collapsing. A bright flash of light, like that of an explosion. A lone bow lying on the road. An armour clad body falling to the ground. The battle roar of a giant. The scream of a cat in battle. A voice, reminding me of a broken promise.

"_Tell the stars Bob says 'hello'"_

I dig the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to rid my mind of the images that fill my head when I am asleep.

"Percy? Are you okay in there?" Mum's voice was outside the door now, concern dripping into her tone.

"I'm fine Mum. Just coming out now." My voice is controlled. I've had so much practice hiding the pain that it has become second nature.

The door opened and my mother came in with a slightly disapproving frown adorning her face. Dam, I forgot she can see (or hear) right through me.

She saw my red eyes and sat on the edge of my bed, silently pulling my head down to her shoulder and rocking me back and forth. Curling my hands into her blouse, it was easy to think I was just a five year old boy who was seeking comfort from mum, when the most frightening thing was the thunder rumbling above the apartment. Unfortunately that ended in the next year, when the walrus named Gabe moved in. Then there was something worse to fear.

My eyes closed tighter and my grip on my mother intensified, blocking out the memories I would rather not relive. Being home brought back more memories.

After a few more moments, my mother pulled back from me, taking my face carefully in her hands and looking me right in the eye.

"Are you sure you want to do this sweetheart? You don't have to go." Her thumb stroked my face and I could see the hesitance in her face. I know what she wants me to say.

"Yes mum. I want to do this." No I don't, but this isn't about me.

"Really baby? Are you sure?" The hopefulness in her face has everything to do with my answer.

"Yes! It's just school. How bad can it be?"

**PJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJO**

Very bad, apparently. As soon as I walked in I got stares coming at me from every direction.

"He's back."

"I heard he ran away."

"Really? I thought he had finally rounded the bend and was in the asylum for the year."

"No, sillies. He was in rehab. Duh."

Rolling my eyes, I just continued to walk on. I quickly opened my locker and headed to my classes. Everywhere I went I just got more stares. Nobody talked to me and that was fair enough. I didn't want to talk to them either. By the time lunch rolled around I had heard several different accounts of my story ranging from plastic surgery mishaps to a severe and deadly strain of disease. Apparently The Plague is still around.

I sat in the corner as far away from everyone that I possibly could. I really didn't want to hear more about my life from the bottom feeders otherwise known as high school students.

Wow, that almost sounded smart. If only I had said that aloud.

So there I was, eating my lunch in peace and not-so-quite, when my day just had to get that much worse.

"Hey Jackson!" I whipped my head around to the owner of the voice. The tall, what some would describe as handsome, quarterback was standing on his table filled with football goons. I'm sure I knew his name at some point in my high school career, but at that point in time, I really couldn't care less.

When he saw he had my attention, he let out a bellowing laugh for no apparent reason. Apparently his jokes are so funny he can't say them out loud.

"Hey Jackson," He repeated. Gods this guy was getting on my nerves. "How was your year in the slammer? Huh? Finally got caught for all the crimes you committed." Que more laughter from him and his goons. Now everyone in the cafeteria was whispering to someone or other about the new theory.

I turned my head back to my nearly empty plate. Well, gotta give them props for letting me eat before trying to humiliate me.

"So is it true you killed someone?" I froze. _No. Not now. Not now. Not now._

The hushed voices around me stopped and I could feel everyone looking at me. Waiting for the response. A response I couldn't give for the flashes of images racing through my head.

Apparently my lack of answer was all the answer they needed.

"Murderer." The Neanderthal yelled out and it soon enough, the room was chanting.

"Murderer," _Silena_ "Murderer," _Bianca_ "Murderer," _Beckendorf _"Murderer," _Oh Gods, _"Murderer,"_ Why won't they stop. Stop it. Where is the teacher? Oh Gods, just STOP!_

Slamming my hands down on the table, I stood up as quickly as I could, making my chair fall over as I escaped out the doors.

Once outside, I closed my eyes against the light and found the wall, sliding down and placing my head on my knees. My breathing became laboured and I soon found my cheeks wet. The images never stopped.

_Please stop. Please stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. _

Eventually the bell rang and I forced myself to my feet. I knew my eyes were red and the stares seemed to intensify as I walked to my locker. I grabbed my books in a daze and quietly headed to English, my head bent low, completely contrasting my posture from that morning.

I shuffled into English, ignoring the glares from the teacher telling me I was late. It's not like I cared anyway. Mrs. Gilbert was my least favourite teacher and annoying her would usually brighten my day. But that was before… well... you know.

"It's nice of you to finally join us Mr. Jackson. Care to tell me where you have been?" Her annoying voice cut through the haze that had taken over my brain and I lifted my head with a glare.

"It's none of your business."

Her response was a small huff in my direction before going on with her usual 'welcome back to hell' speech. I tuned her out and focused on the picture in my note book. Leo had managed to take a photo after one of our battles on the Argo II. We were all covered in monster dust but our smiles reached our eyes. Jason and I were leaning on each other as neither of us could stand on our own. Annabeth stood in front of us with her arms around both Piper and Hazel. Frank stood to the side and Leo's face took up the corner of the photo (how he got a selfie stick on our quest, I don't know). Hedge was in the background leaning against his baseball bat, looking satisfied with himself. The picture was taken before the fall. We all looked so… happy, I guess. Happier than later on at least. Looking at it cleared my head and the images stopped.

_They're alive. You saved them. Not everyone is gone._

"… And I expect them all to be read by the end of this week. We will be starting Pride and Prejudice on Monday. Each of you will have to read one chapter in class, just so I know everyone is up to date." Mrs. Gilberts voice broke through my concentration and I realised the bell had gone. Everyone was getting up but her last sentence was running through my head.

"Mrs. Gilbert, what do you mean reading a chapter in class?" I asked after most of the kids had left.

"I mean, Mr. Jackson, that you will be reading a chapter out loud in class. What is so difficult to understand?" Her exasperated expression turned towards the door as she walked away.

"I'm dyslexic ma'am. I can't read a chapter in class!" I protested and she huffed once again and turned to me.

"If you were dyslexic, you would be in the dyslexic program-"

"I was supposed to be in the dyslexic program but this school is so f'd up that they moved me out to 'save money'."

"You watch your language, young man…"

"No! I will say what I want, and I am not going to read in class." With that I moved past her and stalked out into the empty corridors. Ripping open my lock, I shoved my books in my bag and slung it over my shoulder, leaving the school as quickly as possible.

Taking deep breaths, I opened the door to the apartment, keeping my expression neutral. Rounding the corner, I saw mum waiting for me at the kitchen table.

"Hey sweetheart. How was school?" Her voice was strained and I could hear the worry she was trying to conceal.

"It was fine Mum. School is school." I smiled at her quickly before moving past her to my bedroom before she could analyse my face.

Once there, the tears came again and the flashes began to move past my eyes faster and faster.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey **** It's been a while since I updated, I know. I got stuck. And then I got distracted. Anyway, here is chapter 3. It's a little longer than I thought it would be but I guess that's a good thing. Hope you enjoy.**

The next morning was much the same as the last. As was the next. And the next. And the next. Every day was the same too. Get up, shake off nightmare, go to school, ignore the harsh words and glare at Mrs. Gilbert before going home for the day. Some days were more bearable than others, though. Those days were the ones when they would IM me. Annabeth would blow me a kiss while the others shouted their greetings from the background. We would then usually speak about our days. It sounds boring I know but it helped me keep my sanity. Of course, they weren't told about what happened at school, and I haven't cried since I came home after that day.

This boring and slightly painful routine lasted three months. Then something changed.

I got to school that morning the same as every other morning. I walked to my locker in the crowded, silent hallways and… hang on. Silent?

I couldn't hear any whispering. There were no harsh words. Nobody was greeting their friends in the jubilant manner that usually came with Friday mornings. They were all just staring at me. Creepily. When I got to my locker I found out why.

There, carved into the metal, were three words.

_Retard _was carved down the side, breaking in the middle to make way for my lock.

_Bastard _was carved diagonally in the far left corner.

And right in the centre, carved in bigger letters than the other two, was _Murderer._

I stood there for a good 15 minutes, just staring. Mind you, most of that time was dedicated to figuring out what they had actually written. You'd think they would have more sense than carving words into the locker of someone with dyslexia. Or maybe that was the joke.

"Hey, Jackson," His obnoxious voice was booming in the silence as Mr. Quarterback rounded the corner, his grin like that of a overly excited, yet evil, bulldog. By this point, I'm sure my face was burning red, from embarrassment or anger, I don't know. Probably both.

"Whod'ya kill, Jackson?" Mr. Quarterback (I think his name is like, Dave, or something) laughed as he neared me. "I think everybody wants to know."

I ignored him, opening my locker quickly and grabbing my books. I shoved my way through his laughing friends and continued to walk to homeroom. Or, at least, I tried to.

My arm was yanked backwards and I found myself face to face with… Daniel? Yep, don't know.

"You gotta answer me retard." He spat in my face, gripping my upper arm so hard I knew there would be bruises.

Having had enough of Diablo, I stepped up closer to him, putting my face right in front of his and, loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear, I said: "You're a dick."

Creative, I know.

In shock, he released my arm and looked around at the now sniggering audience. I turned on my heel and continued to walk down the hallway.

"You will regret that Percy Jackson!" Doug roared down the hallway. "You will regret ever crossing paths with Nicolas Schmit!"

_Wow. I wasn't even close._

**PJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJO**

The rest of the day passed uneventfully until I got to English. You see, so far I have managed to weasel my way out of reading in class but today was obviously just not my day.

"Good afternoon class. Today we will be starting Wuthering Heights! Now this book…" I zoned out again, like I usually do in English, slouching down on my chair. I gazed out the window for I don't know how long until I was broken out of it by the shrill voice of Mrs. Gilbert who was now full on glaring at me.

"Sorry ma'am, could you repeat the question?" I asked, sitting up straighter.

"I said, Mr. Jackson, that it is your turn to read a chapter. You managed to weasel your way out of the last book but in no way are you getting out of this one!"

"But ma'am-"

"No buts Mr. Jackson. You are in this class, which means you have to take part."

Grumbling to myself, I opened the book slowly, glaring at her the entire time.

"I have just tun… returned from a sitvi… visit to the lond… landlord-"

"Percy Jackson, read properly! We don't want to hear mistakes every third word." Mrs. Gilbert cut in. Glancing around, I could see people silently laughing and I could feel my face heat up.

"Sorry ma'am." I muttered, looking back down at the book.

Before I could start, however, someone else piped up.

"Ma'am, maybe we should let him off the hook." The girl in the third row with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail spoke up, catching the attention of Mrs. Gilbert.

_Thank you! Someone is on my side._

"And why should we do that, Ms. Jones?" Mrs. Gilbert looked over her glasses with a frown.

"Because it's obvious he can't read ma'am. He's a retard." She finished with a smirk, rousing laughter from almost everybody in the room.

_So much for on my side._

Mrs. Gilbert just looked at her. Surely a teacher should tell of a child that insulted another in their class.

As I watched, Mrs. Gilberts mouth twitched into a small smile as well and she turned to look at me.

"Very well, Ms. Jones. I guess there isn't much point in letting someone read who should never have graduated kindergarten, let alone be in this class."

If my face was heated before, it was now completely on fire as a few tears gathered in the corners of my eyes.

Slamming my books together, I got up and ran out the door, slamming it behind me as I did. As I got to my locker, the words seemed to stand out more so than in the morning and a few tears managed to escape before I got my locker open. Grabbing my bag, I made a mad dash to the front doors, rushing out only to run into someone on the other side.

Looking up, I barely had time to close my eyes before a fist connected with my face, forcing me to stumble backwards.

"That's what you get for running into me punk!" Internally I groaned. Looks like Saint Nick and his friends didn't like their last period class either.

"Oh, it's you, Jackson." Nicolas continued, obviously just realising who he punched in the face. For some reason, I didn't like the tone of his voice.

"Well, now that you're here, I guess we can start on your punishment." His grin grew more pronounced as his fist tried to connect to my stomach. Fortunately, my reflexes are about 20x faster than his and I was able to dodge around him and try to make a run for it. UNfortunately for me, he had about six friends who were willing to beat up anyone their 'boss' told them to.

Two of them grabbed my arms and dragged my back, slamming me against the wall of the school. They then held my arms there and two more came forward to help restrain me.

"Aww, can't you fight back, Jackson?" Nicolas taunted before pulling back his fist and letting it fly into my stomach. Twice.

"Can't handle it, retard?" He said as I thrashed against the boys holding me. With a laugh, Nicolas punched me in the face once more, forcing my head to snap back against the brick wall.

The others let me go and I fell to the ground, dazed and dizzy.

"I hope you learnt your lesson, boy." The tall, lean frame of Nicolas suddenly changed as he laughed, momentarily turning into a tall 200+ kilo man. As quickly as it came, it left, leaving me alone on the ground as the group of boys walked away.

Holding in the tears, I slowly got up, holding my stomach. I started to walk, then run, out of the school grounds and the opposite direction from my apartment. I don't know how long I ran, all I know is that I ended up on the ground in some secluded part of Central Park. Under the safety of the trees, I started crying. The flashes came again, this time with more malice.

_Silena, Beckendorf, Michael, Bob, Bianca, dead, dead, dead, dead, you killed them, they're dead, murderer, murderer, murderer. _

Slowly the voice turned into a chorus, like the student body on the first day of school.

I curled in on myself, protecting myself from both the bitter wind and the images continuously flipping through my head. Instantly I recoiled from the action, pain shooting up through my boddy, making it hard to breathe.

Blindly, I reached for my bag, hoping I had remembered to pack some ambrosia. Of course I hadn't. I also hadn't packed a jumper and the wind was turning colder. Above me rain clouds were gathering. That could be a blessing or a curse. On one hand, the water would heal my surely black eye and possibly bruised ribs, there-fore not scaring the wits out of my mother when I inevitably return home (what time that will be, I don't know). For that, though, I would have to let myself get wet. Getting wet combined with the wind was sure to get me sick.

_Although if I'm sick, I can't go to school._ _Instead I would be home alone all day with nothing but my ever darkening thoughts and flashbacks. Yeah ok. Better not._

As I was thinking, the rain began. I also noticed that the sky had darkened and it was most definitely night time.

Slowly I stood, trying not to worry about how mum must be out of her mind. Willing myself to get wet, I slogged my way back to the apartment. By the time I got there I was shivering and regretting that decision.

Quietly unlocking the door, I stepped in and froze. There, on the couch, was my mum. But it wasn't only her. Annabeth was curled up in the arm chair with Hazel and Frank was on the floor leaning against it. Jason and Leo were leaning against the other arm chair where Piper was reclining. They were all asleep.

Suddenly I was glad I chose the rain instead of the bruises.

Sneaking past them was easy enough and I got to my room quickly, shoving a piece of ambrosia in my mouth just in case. I changed out of my now dry clothes, jumped into bed, pulled covers all the way over my head and once again fell into an uneasy sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey again. Two in one day, I guess I am bored. Anyways, this is chapter 4. It's not my best work but hey, I had to put something here. This is just a kind of set up chapter to make everything else make a little more sense. Hope you enjoy.**

Waking up the next morning, I had a pounding headache. Sitting up slowly, I reached my hand to the back of my head where the pain was the most prominent. The back of my head felt sticky. Pulling my hand back around to my face I realised that the sticky substance was congealed blood.

_Crap. I forgot about that._

Obviously I hadn't had enough ambrosia last night to heal my head, although, to be honest, I never even knew my head was bleeding.

_That could have ended badly._

Staggering to my feet, I grabbed another square of ambrosia and darted to the bathroom, hoping none of our guests were awake to see me.

Turning on the shower, I stuck my head under it and creepily felt the cut closing on my head. I knew it wasn't fully closed but the pain had stopped. My vision still seemed a little blurry but I could deal with that. I looked in the mirror and all traces of a black eye were gone and my ribs seemed to be healed. There was a massive bruise on my stomach but it was faded and you wouldn't be able to tell it was there unless you were looking closely. And I would be wearing a shirt, of course.

I darted back to my bedroom, unseen by anyone and quickly threw on some clothes before taking a deep breath and heading out into the lounge room where they looked like they were setting up a search party. They were all bent over the coffee table, looking at a map. They all looked worried as well.

Jason was the first to see me. He glanced up from the map at Annabeth who was across from him but ended up meeting my eyes instead. His eyes widened slightly before he let out a small huff.

"Oh thank Gods." He breathed out as he got up and walked over to me, pulling him into a small hug.

Annabeth was the next up and she almost tackled me.

"Where were you? We were so worried Seaweed Brain!" She exclaimed while hitting me on the arm repetitively.

"I'm sorry guys. I got chased by some Hellhounds. Nothing I couldn't handle but it did take me a while to get home." I lied, cringing internally.

Annabeth pulled back to examine me (whether for injuries or lies, once again, I don't know) and suddenly everyone's eyes were on me.

After a second of silence, Mum came forward and took my face in her hands, her eyes boring into mine.

"You're lying. What happened?" She said, her voice sterner than I have heard in a long time.

"Mum, I'm telling the truth."

"No, you're not. You're doing that thing with your hands that you do when you're lying. Now tell me what happened." She ordered.

"Nothing serious happened Mum…"

"Then why are you avoiding it?" Leo cut in. I looked at him and was startled to see all of them standing there glaring at me.

"Percy, just tell us what happened. Why were you so late?" Annabeth pleaded from my side.

"No, it was nothing. It was stupid." I tried again, backing up against the stepping back as everyone seemed to take a step forward in unison.

"It obviously wasn't 'nothing', Percy. Now answer the damn question." Jason said and I tried to take another step back. Key word: tried.

I stepped back into the arm of one of the chairs and lost my balance, toppling backwards and hitting my head on the wall.

Groaning, I sat up as much as I could and glared up at the people in my lounge room who were trying to keep in their laughter.

"Come on Seaweed Brain." Annabeth laughed, holding her hand out for me. Taking it, she pulled me back to my feet. I reached up to rub my head where I hit it on the wall and felt it again.

_Oh schist._

"Now can you please…"I couldn't hear her anymore. I just looked at them all with what I'm sure was an expression of horror.

"Percy?" Piper frowned, stepping forward. "What's wrong?"

In response, I brought my hand down from my head. They all shouted at the red substance that spread over my hand before they all forced me back down on the floor. Mum shoved some nectar at Annabeth who quickly dribbled it down my throat and the others grabbed a first aid kit (where'd they get that?) and began to clean the cut.

It was all done in a matter of minutes and yet they refused to let me up.

"I'm fine guys." I insisted for (hopefully) the last time.

This time, they let me up but carefully followed me the three steps to the chair where I was lovingly forced to sit again and then the chair was surrounded by worried faces, all peering at me as if I'd die at any moment.

"Percy, can you please tell us what happened yesterday? And please don't say 'nothing'." Hazel asked softly, leaning her head against my knees.

"I'm fine, I swear. I got chased into Central Park and got a bit lost. Please just believe me." I pleaded to them, knowing that they wouldn't accept it any other way.

"Ok. We'll drop it." Annabeth said softly, combing her fingers through my hair. "After all, we didn't come here to fight. We need your help."

_Of course you do._

"What do you need?" I asked, curious.

"So many new campers have come in and everything is getting majorly overwhelming, especially with you being away and all. We just need some advice on how to take it without snapping at the new comers." Jason said from his seat on the arm of my chair.

"Also, we wanted to say hello." Frank said, putting his arm around Hazel.

Advice. They wanted advice. I wasn't sure if I was in the right place to be giving advice but then I remembered they don't know. And they can't know.

"So how do you think we could help these kids? Without, you know, accidentally running them through with a sword on purpose." Leo asked, leaning over the back of my chair.

Snorting at that, I thought for a moment.

"Well… all you can really do is remember that if you don't do all you can for these kids there can be consequences. These kids need a lot of help. They aren't like us and we can't resent them for that. All we can do is prepare them for everything that is going to go wrong when they inevitably leave the camp. We may have survived with little to no training but a lot of them won't. And if they don't realise that, then that is what you are going to have to drill it into their heads."

They were all silent for a few seconds, taking in my genius.

"Thanks Percy." Annabeth finally said, leaning her head against my shoulder.

We all stayed like that for another hour or so, just talking to each other. Eventually they left, exclaiming that Chiron was probably worried enough as it is.

"Take care Percy." Annabeth said as she left their final hug. The way she said it almost sounded like a warning.

For the rest of the day I just lazed about, talking to Mum and Paul. Eventually though, my head started hurting again, but this time as if a headache was coming on.

_This is when I begin to regret getting wet._

The day passed quickly, as did the night, and I could feel my throat becoming sore and my nose began to run.

By the time I woke up Sunday morning, I felt miserable. The entire day was spent hiding from my mum because I knew she would keep me home from school tomorrow if she knew I was sick. And as much as I hated school, being alone for a whole day was worse.

Sunday night was awful. I couldn't sleep. I felt too hot, then suddenly I was really cold and then my heads hurt and I just couldn't sleep.

Then I was struck by a sudden realisation

_I have a history essay due tomorrow._

Sitting up, I crawled to the end of my bed and reached over for my laptop on the desk. I opened it up, sat it on the bed and then wrapped my doona around my shoulders before starting to type.

At 7 am it was finished and I managed to shove it on a memory stick and in my bag before I raced out the door, not bothering to kiss mum goodbye because she would notice I have a fever.

I walked into school trying to keep my nose from expelling embarrassing amounts of snot. I froze when I got to my locker. Some more words had been added.

_Idiot. Stupid. Dumb. Slow. Moron._

I think they used a thesaurus.

Nothing else happened for the rest of the day. I handed in my History essay. I skipped lunch. I also skipped English.

The best thing was I didn't have any flashbacks. All the horrors that are usually fresh in my mind from the nightmare the night before were gone. My sleepless night had made it impossible for any nightmare to reach me and there-fore I wasn't reminded of everything during the day time. That revelation stuck in my head and I smiled for the rest of the day.

When I got home that night, I watched TV, picked at my dinner and went to bed. But I never went to sleep.

Why should I sleep, when nightmares haunt me?

Why should I sleep, when my flashbacks hurt me?

If I don't sleep, they can't get me. And then I'll be too exhausted the next day, and they won't bother me again.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ok, so apparently I was on a roll today and got three chapters out. That is pretty damn good. Thank you to everybody that has reviewed, favourited and followed today. You motivated me to get all three out. Anyways, on to chapter 5. (I keep forgetting to write this on my chapters. Characters and quotes belong to Rick. Good ol' Rick)**

A few days passed and my plan was working. I hadn't had any nightmares or flashbacks that used to occur daily. Of course, there were downsides to it too. Like how I was deadly tired all the time, but that was nothing five red bulls couldn't fix. I also couldn't concentrate on school properly but I had never really cared about keeping up anyways. All I wanted was a pass.

I was still feeling off as well. I couldn't shake the headache or the sore throat. My breathing also became harder day by day.

The bullying was still going though. Nothing could get rid of that apparently. I had given up on any teacher helping me. I knew I could go to Paul, but if I went to him it would get to Mum then it would get to Annabeth and so on until all my work in pretending I was fine would be for nothing.

All was going well until Friday. I have never liked Fridays but this one was worse than all the other Fridays combined. Because on this Friday, I decided I would go to English.

I was tired, as per my plan, and my seat up the back was reclined backwards as I didn't listen to one thing Mrs. Gilbert was saying. I was going over my plan in my head. I knew, at some point, I was going to have to sleep and I was planning on taking an hour nap when I got home. That was also to get Mum off my back.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I didn't notice the bell had gone until Mrs. Gilbert stopped at my desk, slamming down a pile of papers that made my head hurt worse than it already did.

"These are the homework sheets you missed and the work you never handed in from the start of the term Mr. Jackson, all of which are mandatory work requirements. These need to be handed in next week or you will be failing English." She snapped at me before stalking out of the room. I looked down at the stack and realised there was no way I would be able to do all of that by next week, as well as catch up in all the other classes like I was planning to do over the weekend. Flipping through, my dread grew.

_Essay, essay, short questions, essay, poster, essay, short questions. Fudge Monkeys._

Adding it up with my other subjects made 9 essays, 3 short questions, 2 posters and a PowerPoint presentation.

_Fan-Fudgin-Tastic. At least I now have 24 hours in a day to do all of this._

When I went home that night, I skipped dinner in favour of doing all the homework. I know, it sounds weird even to me but I knew if I didn't do that homework I would fail and I would be kicked out again.

_I would fail them again._

Half-way through my first essay for English, a voice startled me out of concentration mode.

"Percy!" Turning around, I saw Jason's face hovering in an IM.

"Hey, Jace. What's wrong?" I frowned at the panicked look on his face.

"You know that Annabeth is in Camp Jupiter at the moment, yeah?"

I nodded slowly. Annabeth had IM'd me yesterday telling me she was going to Camp Jupiter for a few days to help Reyna and Frank with some of their new recruits.

"Yeah, what's happened?"

"They have gone crazy, that's what! All of the newbies are bowing down to the newest of all newbies because he killed a Hellhound and they won't listen to any of us. Would you please be able to come down for the weekend and help me control them?" Jason pleaded to me and then I realised that the pounding I could hear wasn't just from my head, it was also from the outside of the room Jason was standing in.

_Looks like they have gone into riot mode._

I looked back at the stack of paper and my laptop before nodding and promising I'd be there as soon as possible. I shoved all the paper in my bag as well as my laptop and the books I needed for all the subjects.

Rushing out, I quickly explained to Mum and Paul where I was going before practically jumping down the stairs and out onto the streets. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled as loud as I could. Almost immediately a massive black fur ball bounded towards me.

"Hey girl. Take me to camp, will ya?" I whispered to my faithful hound, climbing on her back and closing my eyes against her black fur so as to not puke while shadow travelling.

At the top of Half-Blood Hill, I was greeted by Connor and Travis Stoll, who both looked like they had been though a hurricane and only made it out half alive.

"Oh thank the gods you're here Perce." Travis grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hill while his brother filled me in.

"The new kid, Lawrence Sanderson, thinks he is all high and mighty because he killed a Hellhound and he managed to convince the other new campers that we aren't teaching them anything useful and that we are just keeping them here because we don't want to risk them ever challenging the gods." Connor explained as we got closer to the big house. When we got there I stopped, shocked.

There were about fifty kids surrounding the porch all of them yelling at the flustered Cabin Counsellors. Chiron stood behind them, also trying to control the crowd.

"We barely managed to get out." Travis whispered to me as we began to approach the group.

"Everybody calm down!" Jason shouted above the noise, putting on his praetor voice to no avail.

"No!" Someone I didn't recognise yelled out and stood on the steps. "Your so-called training is teaching us nothing. You are just using it as an excuse to beat us up. We don't need all this training to kill monsters! All we need is a sword!"

"And what if you don't have a sword?" I asked, issuing a silence over the crowd. "What do you do then?"

The boy looked slightly like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth.

"And what if you have a bow and arrow? Will you know how to aim?" I continued, moving through the crowed with the brothers following behind me.

"Oh! And how will you cope if the monster can use a weapon as well? Or is stronger than you? Or faster than you?" By now I was standing on the same step as the boy and looking down at him.

"Now that you think about it, I'm sure you find that nothing these people are teaching you is useless." With this I continued up the steps to the relived looking Counsellors.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" The boy found his voice, making me turn back to him with an exasperated sigh.

"He is the leader of this camp." Jason answered from behind me, surprising me.

_The leader? Really? I thought…_

"So he's the one we should blame for this training." The boy began to climb the stairs and the crowd muttered, uneasy now.

"This training is a lot easier than when I first came here. It is hard to protect us, because there is no way we would live outside the borders without it." I responded as he reached the porch.

"Well that is going to change. I am going to start my own training." I groaned internally at the boy.

"No you're not. You are going to listen to your cabin counsellor-"

"I can do what I want. I'm 12."

This time I groaned out loud.

"Shut up and go to bed will you. Its way past bed time and you'll need sleep before your sword fighting class tomorrow."

"I don't have sword fighting class tomorrow." He looked so confused it was comical.

"You do now." Turning towards the counsellors I asked: "Would you mind if I borrowed them tomorrow morning? They want a different training routine so I will give them one."

They all looked confused but nodded anyway.

"Everyone to bed!" I yelled to make sure everyone heard me and sure enough everyone went to bed. As he went past, I was caught in a hug by Jason.

"Thank you." He whispered to me before moving off to bed.

I sighed and headed to my cabin. Instead of going to bed, I set up my laptop and began my homework.

**PJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJOPJO**

At 8 am, I marched out of my cabin, having finished the PowerPoint and three of my essays. (Also about 15 Red Bulls. I didn't think I would ever sleep again)

Breakfast was over but I didn't really care. That should have been a clue to how bad I was but I had everyone fooled. Mostly myself.

Everyone was just getting up from breakfast when I jumped onto my table and yelled at the top of my lungs: "ALL NEW CAMPERS WITH ME! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! EVERYONE ELSE HAS FREE TIME UNTIL LUNCH!" Before jumping off the table. Literally jumping.

"Wow dude. Drugs for breakfast?" Leo asked from the Hephaestus table.

"Nope. 15 Red Bulls. I'm never going to sleep again." I said as I ran towards the sword fighting arena, the new campers trying to keep up.

For the next four hours the campers went through a vigorous training, much harder than their training from before. At lunch they were all much too tired to glare at me. By lunch my Red Bulls had worn off as well, leaving me almost as tired as the campers.

"How was that one guys?" I asked loudly as we walked into lunch. They tried to glare, they really did. It was kinda cute.

"Okay, you get the rest of the day off." I sighed as if it pained me to say this, but ended up laughing as they all collapsed in a heap in front of the tables. As I moved to my table, my headache came back with a vengeance. Clutching my head, I sat at the table, ignoring the food that appeared.

"Hey Perce." Jason appeared behind me, slapping me on the back. "How hard did you work them? They look like they want to kill you but can't quite manage the energy."

"Let's just say they may not want to get out of bed tomorrow." I muttered, lifting my head from my hands.

"Are you okay dude?" Jason frowned at me, touching my shoulder gently.

"Yeah, just a headache. I think I'll go lie down." I said weakly, standing up a bit too quickly.

As soon as I was upright the world turned violently and I felt myself falling. I heard my name called out and two arms wrap around me before everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey again. I haven't updated in a few days but I thought that would be acceptable considering I did post those three in one day. I think that the next chapter will be the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed. It's always nice to hear what you think of my story and to realise that my story obviously isn't as crap as I thought it would be. A special thank you to Annabeth Jackson for your wonderful reviews. I got your last review just after I had gotten home from work and it made my day that much better. Anyways, here is chapter 6! I hope you enjoy. (Rick owns all. I own nothing) **

The first sign that I was still alive was the pounding headache that was still crashing against my skull. Then I became aware of the sounds around me, the hushed voices next to me and more frantic ones in the background. My sense of touch came back next, feeling the scratchy surface of the sheets beneath my hands. Although this felt like it was taking hours, it really took about ten seconds.

Opening my eyes slowly, I took in the scene. Jason was sitting in the chair beside my bed and Piper was standing behind him, quietly talking to him. Leo was on the other side, tinkering with something, occasionally throwing in his two cents.

I groaned as my headache became worse, alerting my visitors to my consciousness.

"Percy? You awake dude?"

"Yeah." I croaked back, weakly throwing one hand to my head. "What happened?"

"You passed out." Piper answered me, throwing me a slight glare. "Jason caught you and we rushed you here thinking you were injured. But no. You're not injured. You passed out from exhaustion." Her voice hardened at the end, as if she was demanding an answer.

"It's nothing to worry about guys. Seriously." I tried to make my voice sound confident. I didn't work very well.

"It is something to worry about." Now Jason was glaring at me. "You passed out."

"Yes, I got that part. But I'm sleeping fine, I swear." The lie slipped out without any hesitance and I even managed to not play with my hands. That was a success in my books.

"Percy…"

"No. I'm fine. I just had a dizzy spell. You knew I had a headache, Jason."

Looking at their faces I could see they didn't believe me. But they weren't about to argue.

"What day is it?" I asked, sitting up slowly.

"It's Sunday afternoon. Now Percy, you should lie down…" But I didn't hear anything else.

_Sunday afternoon!? _

I jumped out of bed, avoiding Jason's hands as he tried to push me down. As quickly as I could, without stopping to take in their shocked expressions, I ran out of the infirmary and through the camp, only stopping when I got into my cabin and locked the door.

Huffing, I sat down at the desk.

_Jeeze, I'm not as fit as I used to be…_

I opened up my laptop just in time for a mad flurry of knocks began banging at my door.

"Percy! Open this door right now! You need to be resting, preferably in the infirmary where we can watch you." Leo shouted through the door, over the knocking.

"Sorry guys. I can't afford to rest." I yelled back as I began the next essay.

_I need to get this done. I need to get this done._

"Percy, please. We promise to let you be if you unlock the door and try to go to sleep." Piper tried. They had given up on knocking.

Inwardly I snorted.

_Like I'd go to sleep. I'd go mad._

I continued to ignore them for another hour before they gave up with a promise that they would check on me in the morning. Then I focused on completing my homework.

By 7 o'clock the next morning I had finished. They were rough, but I had finished. Shoving everything into my bag (including about 5 red bulls), I quietly summoned Mrs. O'Leary and shadow travelled right to school. I was massively early but I didn't really care. I didn't want Jason and that to be checking on me.

_I'm the one who needs to stay strong. I don't need anyone checking on me._

As I wandered down the empty halls, I downed a red bull and a bottle of water. Ducking into the staffroom, I placed all the homework on the several teachers' desks before heading to my locker and removing all the books I needed first. I figured if I beat the crowd, the taunting wouldn't be so bad.

My head was spinning by the time lunch came around. I sat in the back corner, the same seat I sat in on the first day. I looked down at the tray on the table, not particularly hungry. Then a sudden revelation hit me.

_When was the last time I had eaten?_

In a panic, I thought back.

_Lunch on Saturday… No, Friday night._

Considering it was Monday, that wasn't good. But as I looked at the tray, I realised I couldn't eat whatever the Hades the mystery meat was today. I would chuck it up in a second.

I sighed shakily, feeling the panic rising.

_Calm down. I'll just get mum to cook me something smaller when I get home. It'll be ok._

I pressed my shaking hands to my legs, taking deep breaths to control the panic I could feel taking over.

"Hey Jackson!"

_No. Not now._

"Not hungry, retard?" Nicolas and his goons laughed from across the room. "Always knew there was something wrong with you. An eating disorder as well as a criminal record." He grinned evilly as he sauntered over to me.

I just stared at the table, hoping he would leave if I ignored him. Surprise, surprise, I was wrong.

"Well then, boys, why don't we help him with his problem." Before I could process what he had said I was ripped from my seat by two of the goons.

"Wait…" I couldn't get out anymore than that before Nicolas grabbed a handful of the meat off my plate and shoved it in my face. Forced to my knees, he stuffed some of the meat down my throat, closing my mouth and forcing me to swallow. As soon as the food hit my stomach I knew what was going to happen.

The two guys behind me let go of my arms and I fell forward onto my hands and knees. Everyone else in the room was either laughing or staring in silent horror. No one was getting up to do anything.

"Can't handle it Jackson? Maybe you're weaker than I thou-" He never got to finish.

As he was standing very close to my head, the weird mix of water, red bull and mystery meat that came back up my throat fell onto his shoes as I choked on it.

A deadly silence fell over the room as the only sounds were the gags coming out of my mouth. My head was spinning even faster now as all the liquid and substance in my stomach made its reappearance.

After a few minutes my gagging slowed and the humiliation began to set in. Tears ran down my face and I could only hope the crowd saw them as tears from the choking.

"You. Ruined. My. Shoes." Nicolas whispered, as if he was in shock. I heard his breathing speed up and I could practically feel the anger radiating off of him.

"YOU RUINED MY SHOES!" He suddenly roared, making me flinch away. In my head his voice morphed into that of an older man who ruined my childhood.

"You will pay for that Jackson." I heard him say before a foot collided with my ribs. Before I could gain my baring and get to my feet, he landed another kick to my ribs and I felt another foot crashing down on my ankle. Another foot collided with my back and soon the goons were all kicking me, on stepping on my various limbs.

Soon enough they backed up and I managed to look up through the pain. I wish I hadn't. His evil sneer turned him into the man I hated the most and my head turned down again in horror.

"You are a useless piece of crap Jackson." He growled, stepping down on my right hand until we heard a snap and I had to hold in my scream of pain, making it come out as a whimper. "Nobody wants you. Nobody likes you. You're a freak. You're a murderer. Nobody will ever love you." He finished, aiming a kick at my head, snapping it back and no doubt breaking my nose.

After he finished his speech the bell rang and everyone filed out of the cafeteria, leaving me, bruised and bleeding, on the floor. After a few minutes, I pulled myself up to my feet and stumbled to the doors.

The flashes were coming faster and faster and the tears were flowing freely down my face as sobs ripped through my chest, hurting my ribs more than the running. I pulled my hoodie over my face, making sure no one could see the broken boy underneath.

I took me a second to realise I was running towards my apartment, making my run slow to a brisk walk.

_Mum won't be home. She won't see me like this._

I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing anymore.

All the while the faces kept flashing before me, all twisted with hurt or anger or hatred.

Selina, looking as beautiful as ever with a hurt look in her eye.

_You let me die. _Her mouth moved with the words before fading into that of her boyfriend

Beckendorf's face was twisted in betrayal.

_Why didn't you save me Percy?_

The innocent face of Bianca appeared, her eyes brimmed with tears.

_You lead me to my death. Why?_

"Please stop. Please stop." I muttered out loud, clutching at my already painful torso.

Bob's face came up next, twisted in the anger he showed in his former form, Iapetus.

_You left me alone. Then you left me to die._

"Oh gods. Oh gods. Please. Please stop." I whispered under my breath, my limp becoming more pronounced as my breathing became shallower.

The images continued, making it harder to get home. Eventually I stumbled into the elevator that led to my hallway.

Leaning against the wall, I tried to control my breathing, only to realise my sobs had turned to out of control. My ribs ached, my face throbbed, my leg killed and my hand was in agony. I knew I looked terrible. The tears mixed with the blood that leaked from my nose and I still faintly smelled of barf. My eyes were puffy and swollen, making it hard for me to shove my key into the lock. When I finally jiggled the door open, I raced in, slamming the door behind me and throwing off my hood.

My intentions were to run into the bathroom to take care of everything before collapsing on the shower floor to wallow on my misery but my plans were ruined as I turned into the lounge room.

I stopped and stared at the group in front of me, suddenly extremely glad for my hoodie that covered all the bruises on my body. Sobs still wracked my frame but I managed to suppress them as much as I could.

They all stared back, previous smiles melting into shocked expressions. Annabeth was the first to break out of it.

"Oh gods." She breathed out before rushing up to me. She took my face in her hands, pulling it down as if to see me better.

"Annabeth," I croaked out, only now realising how bad my throat was. "I'm…"

"Don't you dare say fine, Jackson." She growled, making me flinch. She took my arms and dragged me to the couch, me protesting the whole way. Gently, she pushed my shoulders down, getting me to sit. Jason and Frank sat on either side of me, one hand on each of my shoulders, holding me down. Looking down, I realised my hand was an unhealthy shade of purple and I quickly tucked it into my jumper, making sure no one saw it. Leo stood behind me, as if I could escape over the back of the couch and the two girls were kneeling by my feet, cautiously tucking my hair back to see the damage on my face clearly. Annabeth returned from the kitchen with an ice pack, gently applying it to my face.

My protests had quieted a while ago and I had then sat in silence with my head down, avoiding the gazes of everyone else. No one else spoke either.

After the blood had been washed from my face and the swelling had gone down slightly, Annabeth pulled back from me and gazed up at me.

"Who did this?" She finally asked after feeding me a small square of ambrosia. Her voice was quiet, as if she was afraid she would scare me.

I shook my head, just looking at my lap. I thought that if I spoke I would end up crying again.

"Perce?" Jason questioned, moving his hand to my back and slowly rubbing circles there, trying to get me to speak. "We just want to help."

Somehow this gesture brought me crashing down. I broke down sobbing, bending my head closer to my knees. My tired, fogged over brain barely registered all of them moving closer to me, keeping a hand on me as if to tell me they were there.

Eventually my sobbing slowed. I ended up gasping, trying to get my breath back. My ribs were throbbing and my head was still hurting.

"Percy?" Hazel tentatively asked, reaching out to touch my right hand.

When her light touch skimmed over my hand under my jumper I couldn't help but cry out. My hand was hurting like crap.

Sharing a look with the others, Hazel carefully pulled back my jumper, revealing the unnatural purple of my hand.

"Oh gods." Annabeth muttered again, racing to retrieve the ice-pack again. But when she came back she didn't wrap it around my hand like I expected. Instead, she resumed kneeling in front of me and gently reached down to the hem of my hoodie. Understanding what she wanted, I gave in and lifted my arms, letting her slip both my jumper and my t-shirt over my head. From the gasps that resounded around me yet again, I knew it must have been bad.

"Percy? Why are there foot prints all over you?" Leo breathed from behind me, carefully inspecting my back.

"Don't tell us to not worry Percy, and don't bother telling us you are fine, because you're not." Piper said firmly, anticipating what I was going to say.

"Who was it?" Frank spoke from next to me, getting me to finally look up from my lap and into the worried faces of my friends.

"…" I mumbled, looking back to my lap.

"What was that?" Jason asked, leaning closer.

"Nicolas." I said, a little more clearly.

"Who in Hades is Nicolas?" Leo muttered from behind me.

"And why does it look like you haven't eaten or slept for weeks?" Annabeth asked from her position in front of me.

"Percy, what is happening?" Jason added, gently replacing his hand on my shoulder.

So I told them. I told them everything from the nightmares to the stress to the flashes. I told them about my plan to not sleep and how I had forgotten to eat. I told them about the bullying and how bad it actually affected me. I told them everything.

I was crying again, by the time I finished.

They didn't say anything. But why would they, I had thought. Now they knew. They knew that I was broken. Why would they need me around if they knew I was broken?

My thoughts were interrupted as Annabeth laid her head on my knees, much like I did to her when she came into my cabin however long ago that was. The other two girls leaned on me and the boys turned around to hold everyone as close as possible. Eventually we were just a pile of broken down teenagers who needed their friends, now more than ever.


	7. Epilogue

**A/N: THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! Oh my gods, that was quick. Thank you to everyone, again, who reviewed and favourited and followed. This is the end of my first story and I am actually really proud of this and I hope I just get better and better as I keep writing. I was thinking of starting a little spin off that is this story for several other POV's (eg. Annabeth's thoughts on Percy's strength and Jason's thoughts when Percy passed out) so let me know what you think. So for the final time in this story, let's get on with the chapter. (Rick owns Percy Jackson and all the characters) **

The next few months were painful to say the least. I healed slowly but it was bearable, because all of my friends refused to leave my side.

I remember waking up the day after I had confessed, gasping and shaking from a nightmare, only to be pulled into my girlfriend's arms with soothing words spoken into my ear.

"It's okay. You're okay. We're here."

I had managed to calm down in record time and yet she still held me for another ten minutes, just to make sure I was alright.

I remember walking out of my room and into the kitchen where my mother pulled me into a soft embrace. (I learnt later on that they had told her everything after I had fallen asleep on the couch. I thought I would feel angry but for some reason it only made me feel more loved.)

I ate my small breakfast, trying to get my stomach to react normally to food, all the while talking with the rest of the seven about anything and everything.

I remember curling into a ball on the floor after Leo had accidentally smashed a plate, being pulled into a flashback that I would have much rather not relived. They had all sat on the floor with me, keeping one hand on me each, making sure to not over crowd me.

Once the flashback was over I had leaned on Jason for a good half an hour to calm myself down and managed my first real laugh in weeks when Piper handed everyone a spoon and opened a tub of blueberry ice cream.

We sat on the floor then for hours, just soaking in the presence of everyone around us.

I remember falling asleep on the floor, just one massive clump of people and waking up to a nightmare. But this time it wasn't mine. Nobody else had woken up and so I merely pulled Piper a little closer to me and told her everything was okay, waiting until she calmed down so I could pull her into a hug.

After everybody had woken up and we finally decided to move from the floor, Piper had kissed me on the cheek and thanked me quietly, almost as if nothing had changed.

And that's the way it was. We helped each other through those times of need. One day I would need comfort and the next day Leo was breaking down. Some days we all needed comfort, in which we would all bunker down where ever the hell we were at the time and just hang out together. We would comfort each other from the sadness that would consume us, and protect each other from the horrors that came from behind our eyelids.

We also protected each other from those horrors that attacked us from outside our heads.

One of the days after my breakdown, I had woken up late and everyone else nowhere to be seen. Just as I had started to panic they had come in the front door, laughing and pushing each other around.

Annabeth had smiled at me and pulled me into a soft hug.

"Where were you guys?" I had asked, trying to sound casual and not at all as if I was scared they had abandoned me.

"Nowhere important, baby." Annabeth had responded and as she pulled away from me I saw some dark blue shading on her knuckles. Quickly glancing at everyone else, I realised they all had it and I let my eyebrows knit in confusion.

Jason just shook his head at me as he walked past me, warning me not to ask.

Of course, it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened when I spotted my school bag in the corner and Nicolas arrived at school the next day with more than a few bruises on his face and a terrible limp. He also seemed to have fewer goons than usual and people were snickering when he limped past.

I had braced myself for seeing my locker again, because I had promised my friends a full day at school (which meant most of the day without them), and I knew I couldn't handle anymore flashbacks.

I froze when I saw it and tears welled in my eyes, but for entirely different reasons.

My locker was no longer the dull grey colour of everyone else's. Stuck over all the insults and covering the entire locker were pieces of blue paper, all different shades, making it look like the ocean. On the paper were more words.

_Smart _was written along the side, where retard used to be.

_Loved _was up in the corner, taking over the space bastard used to take up.

Around them were smaller words like _Friend, Handsome _and _Protective. _

Right across the middle, in capital letters, taking over the space murderer used to reside in, was: LEADER.

Down in the right hand corner they had written: _Don't pay attention to anything these people may say or write. We love you so much Percy. Show them that you are way more awesome than they could ever be._

It was signed The Seven – 1.

When I had gotten home that night I had collapsed in their waiting arms, crying and laughing at the same time, thanking them over and over again.

And so I guess I was wrong. I don't have to be strong for everyone. Heck, I don't even need to be strong for me. And neither does anybody else. Looking at my friends now (who had been prompting me for months to write all this down and refused to take their eyes off me the entire time), I can tell we are all broken, but together we are whole. Together we are strong. And I guess there is room for sadness, because sadness is a fact of life. If _Love _and _Friendship _and _Happiness _can exist, I think I can bear with the sadness. No, scratch that. I think _WE _can bear with the sadness.


	8. AN

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. This isn't another chapter, sorry if you got excited ;). I am just posting to say my next story is up! **

**It is going to be a whole lot of one shots connected to The Agony Inside from the others POV's. I will also be taking requests if anybody wants a one-shot or two-shot written.**

**It will be strictly Hurt/Comfort though.**

**Anyways, can't wait to hear from you lot! **


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